Pitts wrote:Dickie Dunn wrote:I just don't get how this is a feel good story.
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According to Elias Sports (by way of Carolina PR man Mike Sundheim) the Staals are set to become just the fourth trio of brothers to play for the same team in the same season in NHL history:
The Stastnys and Plagers were legitimate NHL players for a long time. Them playing together is an amazing accomplishment that was put in place by their abilities.
Idoit40fans wrote:Are you drunk? I could have sworn that you weren't normally this outrageous when you post.
I'm usually not. There are tons of players who spend their entire careers in the minors holding onto the belief that if they work hard enough maybe they'll get the chance to throw on an NHL sweater. That if the balls bounce the right way for them just once that maybe they'll get their shot, even if its just for one game. I have friends that play in professional leagues that half the members of this board have never heard of, holding onto the smallest glimmers of hope that all of their hard work will overcome their lack of talent and one day they'll be playing in an NHL game (or an AHL game for that matter).
For the vast majority of them it will never happen. They're simply not good enough. No combination of hard work or hope will ever help them achieve their ultimate dream, it's just the way it is. Then you have someone like Jared Staal, who belongs in an NHL game as much as you or I do, get called up to the NHL simply because of his name, it bothers me. I get why he was called up. I get the publicity stunt aspect of it. I get that he was called up because the guys they sent down are more valuable to the Checkers than he is. But it bothers me, because he hasn't earned it. Not on talent, or performance, or time, or dedication, but because he's his brothers' brother. He's a professional athlete, not a charity case. And then you add on that somehow people see this seen as a good, heart-warming, fuzzy feeling event. I don't get fuzzy feelings when people are undeservingly rewarded with something because of their name or status. There's nothing to be proud of here. Nothing has been achieved.
Jared Staal is going to play in two NHL games with two of his brothers and then most likely disappear into hockey obscurity. Good for him. I'm sure he'll enjoy the opportunity and the Staal family will relish every moment of it, but that doesn't change the fact that he didn't earn the opportunity, his brothers earned it for him.
